I've used a Sears/Mossberg 500 for about 40 years without a complaint. I liked it well enough to buy another one in 20 ga a few years ago. The Remington 870 is another that a lot of people like. The Browning and Ithaca guns are good.

I suppose it depends on what you want, and how much you want to spend.

__________________For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
John 3:16 (NKJV)

None of the common pumps are a really bad choice. It comes down to the features, and price point most important to you. Browning, Benelli, Remington, Mossberg, Ithica and probably a few I forgot make good guns and different models selling at different price points.

They're cast neutral ( so they don't favor a leftie or right handed shooter), eject out of the bottom, safety is on top of the tang so its easy to reach with gloves on.../ dual action bars make the action really smooth...nothing not to like about this gun !!

These are my BPS Hunter models I purchased in the late 1970's or so ....they've killed so many birds and clays.../ maybe 500,000 shells thru each of them by now ( they've been thru 2 boys, and at least 4 of the grandkids now as well...)....one is a 12ga and one is a 20ga...

I have had a Winchester 1300 for a few years now, and for a cheap shotgun ($200.00 new at Walmart) it has been flawless. Actually the more I shoot it the better I like it. Works fine for trap and all the bird and small game hunting I do.

+1 on the BPS. It was my first shotgun not too long ago.
Better action than the others, no question. Something I didn't think about until I fired it was the ejection difference. It's a little thing, but not having that shell zinging through your vision (it's a bottom eject) really helps with acquisition of the next target.
The smooth action means that it doesn't affect your swing nearly as much when you have to pump for repeat shots. I won't get technical as to why, but the muzzle rise when firing is noticeably less than it's competitors.
What this all means is the gun is not fighting you while you're learning to use it. As a noob this all turned out to be very important to me.

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You posted that you want a general purpose shotgun for hunting, skeet, and etcetera, but the title of your thread is about a pump. A pump can be used for skeet, but is not a great choice as skeet involves double targets. It can be done with a pump, but you may want a semi.

You may have meant busting clay in general by reference to skeet, instead of the formal game of skeet. In that case, a pump may be fine. Especially if you intend to shoot Trap, which is an entirely different game then "skeet" and the most common form (American Trap) involves single targets.

I think that the Browning BPS is the best pump-action shotgun being currently made. I like the bottom-ejection (closed-receiver), tang safety and all-steel construction features. It's a smooth operator, albeit on the heavy side, and pricier than most run-of-the mill Mossbergs and Remington Express models are.

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You may have meant busting clay in general by reference to skeet, instead of the formal game of skeet. In that case, a pump may be fine. Especially if you intend to shoot Trap, which is an entirely different game then "skeet" and the most common form (American Trap) involves single targets.

I know it's nothing special, but I just bought a "cheap" Maverick 88, and I have to say it seems like a very decent gun. I've owned two Mossbergs, and the Maverick seems to be their equal. No complaints, and very economical.

__________________"The rifle itself has no moral stature, since it has no will of its own. Naturally, it may be used by evil men for evil purposes, but there are more good men than evil, and while the latter cannot be persuaded to the path of righteousness by propaganda, they can certainly be corrected by good men with rifles." Col. Jeff Cooper, from The Art of the Rifle

It depends on what you want. All of the guns listed will go bang. I don't care for low end like the Mossberg and Express guns. The Wingmaster and BPS are very good guns. The best being made today is the Ithaca 37. They are more expensive but you get what you pay for. They are made with machined steel parts, no stamping or aluminum.

The problem with a "do-it-all" gun is that it tends to not do any ONE thing very well. If that still works for you and in your applications, then no big deal. However, many times a specific gun more dedicated to particular application is a better choice

Mossberg 500, 590 etc. Can't go wrong. You can even get a 500 that comeswith both a long and short barrel.

Anyone that thinks pumps are slow hasn't practiced enough. I can beat 9 out of ten guys with semi autos. It takes longer for most people to get on target than it does to pump another round in. An auto is only faster by fractions of a second and an auto that will feed and function as well as a pump will cost you 3 times as much as a pump. My pumps of varying brands will all feed any ammo I sent their way. You'll be hard pressed to get an auto that will match them for much under a grand. If SHTF I'd leave the Benelli and grab the Mossy pump.

When I look for a gun I look for two things over everything else. It must be dead reliable( feeds and go's bang every time/ must be durable) and accuracy( accurate enough for it's intended purpose). You should decide what characteristics you need in your gun and then research what guns best matches your needs and price range. Hopefully that will shorten your list to two or three to choose from.

You could always buy both and cover all your bases. That's what I'd do

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